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From the Mayor's Desk

Key Land-Use Plans will Help Tackle Housing Crisis, Create Jobs and Enhance Community Growth

June 25, 2024 | Mayor Todd Gloria

blueprint

The City of San Diego's Land Use & Housing Committee has unanimously approved three significant plans that will help us combat our housing crisis: Blueprint SD, the University Community Plan Update, and the Hillcrest Focused Plan Amendment. 

These are technical documents that guide how our communities grow and develop over the coming decades to accommodate changes in population, our workplace needs and how we get around. 

Blueprint SD updates our citywide General Plan to address employment growth, climate action, mobility, urban design and more. It emphasizes locating new homes and jobs within walking distance to transit, creating walkable communities, increasing protected bicycle facilities, and enhancing public transit, all while reducing vehicle miles traveled and improving the quality of life for San Diegans. 

The University Community Plan Update will create capacity for over 30,000 new homes and 70,000 new jobs, especially in the biotech and life sciences sectors, over the course of the coming decades, along with 160+ acres of dedicated open space to our University City neighborhood. This plan supports regional transit investments and significant improvements to pedestrian and bicycle networks, ensuring a more connected and vibrant community. 

The Hillcrest Focused Plan Amendment aims to add jobs,17,000 new homes and create promenades and more bicycle infrastructure in the coming years. It builds upon planned regional transit investments and includes dedicated transit facilities, making Hillcrest a more accessible and enjoyable place for everyone. 

The Hillcrest proposal also includes what would be the City’s first-ever protections for businesses considered “legacy tenants,” which could be at risk of being pushed out by rising rents and property values that can come with new growth. It specifically protects jobs in the service and entertainment industries. The plan also calls for celebrating the legacy of the neighborhood’s LGBTQ+ community — which continues to thrive after emerging in the 1970s — with a special historic district featuring public art, preserved buildings, plaques and other attractions. 

These plans represent a forward-thinking, long-term approach to urban planning that prioritizes sustainable growth, aligning employment and residential growth, improving mobility, and enhancing community spaces. 

Thank you to the hundreds of San Diegans who got engaged in the planning and approval process. These three updates will all be presented to City Council in late July, paving the way towards building a better San Diego for all of us.

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